Loss
by TMNTgrl
Summary: X didn't think he could bear to watch his friend die. Not again. And especially not after facing the vicious red Maverick in battle... Oneshot; rated for mild language.


_**A/N: Random little oneshot I wrote when I was bored. Based off of the 'bad' scenario in X5, just after you fight Evil Maverick Zero. Yes, I made some adjustments to the dialogue, because some of it...didn't make sense.**_

* * *

"Uh . . . ugh . . ." Zero's eyes flickered open, and the first thing he saw was his friend and fellow Maverick Hunter laying very still several feet away. "X . . . ? X . . ."

Silence.

_Damn_, Zero thought. _I screwed up, didn't I? I let the virus take over and . . ._ He closed his eyes. _What have I done . . . ?_

Evil laughter cracked the air, echoing off of the crater walls. "You've done very well, X. I will make your end easy!" A laser cannon began to whir; white light gathered at the villain's fists.

"No, I won't allow you to!"

The red android flung himself in front of his friend, shielding him with his body. "I know everything you're trying to do!"

"Then be a good boy, and _just die_!" And the laser cannon fired.

Heat like molten metal surged through every circuit of Zero's body, and he screamed. He had been punched, kicked, slashed, burned, crushed, stabbed, shot, even killed- and yet he had never felt pain like this.

At that moment, he knew that it was over.

"X, please survive!" Zero cried as he crashed to the ground. "Li . . . live . . . for me . . . X . . ."

"You'd almost fully evolved to your true self," Sigma sniffed. "It's a shame that you didn't quite make it, Zero. You had so much potential. Oh well, farewell! Well . . . it's only you now, X . . . I will let you live this time. But I won't be so kind next time, and there _will_ be a next time! See you soon! You . . . the strongest robot!"

Then he was gone.

"Nn . . . nnh . . ." Zero shifted slightly, struggling to keep his eyes open even as his optical circuits began to fail. "I'm losing my strength . . . and power . . . I . . . I can't see anything . . ."

Excess energy brought on by the laser cannon still throbbed through his body. He twitched, giving a faint cry. X stirred. "Z . . . Zero . . . stand by me . . . I . . . I'll protect you, I swear . . . I'll . . ."

_Dreaming_," Zero thought. _You're dreaming, aren't you? Always the optimist . . ._ "X . . . I . . . I'm sorry . . . for everything . . ." His voice faded off and he closed his eyes. "I'm sorry . . ."

* * *

X awoke to find the crater utterly still. No Mavericks clanked toward him. No Reploids screamed for mercy as the virus clawed its way into their bodies.

And no voice, good or evil, called out to him.

X stared around with his mouth hanging slightly open, disturbed by the silence and feeling closed in by the isolation. He gasped softly; his eyes grew wide.

"Zero," he whispered.

_How did this happen_? he wondered. He remembered collapsing when Zero attacked him with Twin Dream, faintly hearing Sigma's laughter, Zero's cry of pain . . . _Then he was . . . protecting me? But I thought . . . the virus . . ._

Horror suddenly took the place of confusion; he scrambled to his friend's side, picking him up and shaking him gently. "Zero, wake up."

Silence.

"Wake _up_!" X insisted, shaking him a little harder. "Come on, buddy . . . just open your eyes . . ."

He fumbled for his subtanks, only to find one empty and the other very nearly so. _Right . . . I used them when we fought . . ._

As despair began to take hold, X used what little energy was in the storage unit in an attempt to revive his fellow Hunter. "Now wake up, Zero! Please . . . wake up . . ."

He hadn't cried when he had fought the red Maverick- no, his best friend; he had stayed calm, hoping desperately that he could bring Zero to his senses, or at least knock him unconscious and get him to safety. But now tears welled up in his eyes at the thought of losing him. "Don't do this to me! I . . . I can't . . . Zero, please . . . don't die . . ." Fear clutched at his near-human emotions, and he began to shudder weakly. "Just speak to me! Say something! _Anything_! I-I don't care if you're a Maverick; we'll find a way to fix you! Just come back!" His voice softened to a whisper. "Come back . . ."

Deafening silence continued to crush the air around him.

"Why," X murmured, fear and grief suddenly turning into anger. "Why do you always have to go and get yourself killed for my sake? I never asked you to protect me! Don't you know how much the world needs you- how much _everyone_ needs you? It was hard enough losing you once; did you even stop to think about how hard it would be for me to see you die protecting me for a second time?"

He was crying again. "Y-you should've . . . you should've just let me die . . . you didn't have to save me . . . s-someone has to be a hero, buddy. Someone has to stop this war . . . a-and you're so much stronger than I am. You've always been stronger . . ."

A torrent of memories crashed down on him, threatening to drown him in grief.

He remembered metallic fingers curling around his body, threatening to squeeze the life out of him, until a Z-buster shot saved his life. He remembered his friend telling him to keep fighting, assuring him that he'd become stronger.

He remembered watching Zero blow himself up to destroy Vile's Ride Armor. How scared he had been to face Sigma alone. How he had fought with everything he had to avenge his fallen comrade.

He remembered being overjoyed when they found Zero's control chip and most of his body; devastated when the X-hunters stole it. He remembered fighting them for possession of the parts- only to ultimately fail when he lost to Serges and they attacked HQ, stealing the control chip.

He remembered Zero attacking him.

He won; he just barely won. He remembered the cheers when they returned to HQ, the celebration, the chance to finally relax.

He remembered smiling when Zero and Iris met, chuckling at his friend's unusual shyness. He was amazed at the red Hunter's ability to balance duty and emotion, as hard as that became when Repliforce was declared Maverick.

He remembered comforting his friend when Iris died, encouraging him to keep on and keep fighting- even if he didn't know what it was all for. He remembered battling side-by-side with his fellow Hunter as they confronted Sigma for the fourth time.

He remembered the widespread emergence of the virus. Worrying when Zero's power only seemed to grow.

Crying out in panic when the shuttle crashed into the colony, and nothing but static came across the communicator.

Facing his friend- a Maverick, more powerful than any robot he'd ever seen- and vowing to bring back the real Zero at any cost.

The long missions.

The painful battles.

The friendly sparring matches.

And now it was all over.

"Please, Zero," X choked. "I-I'd give anything to bring you back . . . p-please don't . . . don't die . . . I-I can't do this alone . . ."

_But you'll have to_, his subconscious reminded him. _Someone has to stop this war. And the world . . . still needs a hero._

_ The world still needs me._

"I'll fight," X whispered. "I'll fight to end this war, once and for all. In your memory." He squeezed his eyes shut. "I'll never forget you. I promise." A tear slid down his cheek and gently fell onto Zero's chest. "I promise . . ."

* * *

**_A/N: It just didn't make sense that X would leave Zero like he did in the game...almost like there was a missing cutscene. So when I think things are missing, I add them myself. :P_**

**_Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a review!_**


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